Mostly Black (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

More than a decade and a half ago, I spent two years working and living in Tanzania. Towards the end of my East African sojourn, I treated myself to a safari trip that included visits to Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Tarangire National Parks and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Over the course of a few days, I was treated to the sight of thousands of pink flamingos and migrating wildebeest, hundreds of elephants and zebras, and scores of other wild creatures including lions, lionesses and their cubs, cheetahs, hippopotamuses, hyenas, baboons and giraffes. But -- somewhat astonishingly to me at the time -- my safari companion and I discovered that our eagle-eyed guide reserved particular passion and enthusiasm for sightings of rare birds.

These days, when out hiking in Hong Kong, I often think of that guide -- because, if nothing else, hiking in the Big Lychee has taught me to appreciate the smaller and noticeably seasonal, even if not super rare, natural sights. And yes, certain birds definitely fall into this category -- but so too do certain insects such as the super big -- and, yes, mostly black! ;) -- spiders and beautiful butterflies that make Hong Kong their home for at least part of the year.

Oh, and should this Photo Hunt entry have you hankering to see more photos of Hong Kong wildlife, do please feel free to go here and here on this blog for a few more close-up shots of certain of this territory's denizens that I'm happy to see when out hiking (but would be far less happy to see inside my apartment -- as was the case a few weeks ago when a scarily giant centipede decided to visit! :O).